The deep night was coming to an end as the dawn approached. In the long stretch of railroad tracks within the forest, a flash of swordlight illuminated the surroundings.
"Paah!"
Hosan's brown-tinged mana-infused sword narrowly grazed my cheek, causing a searing pain as my skin tore.
'Damn it. My face wasn't anything special to begin with.'
From the start, I had planned to summon the undead, but I changed my mind. I believed that I could find a gap in his guard when he least expected it, giving me a chance to survive. So for now, I endured the attacks as if I were calm and collected.
Kwagagak!
The Earth Shields I erected between Hosan and me shattered with a single slash of his sword. Instead of using the Earth Shields to block his attacks, I used them to obstruct his line of sight and create distance. I also used debuff skills.
'Blood Curse.'
However, since my opponent was formidable, the effects of the low-level debuff seemed negligible. If anything, it seemed to enrage Hosan even more.
"You little rat!"
Hosan was fast. No matter how much I tried to evade, it was useless against his overwhelming speed.
Kang!
As our swords clashed, the difference in physical ability became apparent. And with that clash, my sword started to get entangled with his.
'Sword Breaker!'
Hosan's named-class sword, Sword Breaker, devoured the opponent's sword like a ravenous beast. It was a wicked sword that could shred not only the opponent's sword but also their body, resembling a cursed weapon.
I tried to pull my sword back, but it seemed stuck to his sword as if glued. In that case, it's better to strike now!
"Nickel!"
Responding to my call, Nickel sprang out from Hosan's side and swung his sword.
Kwaaang!
The gust of the sword strike covered Hosan, sending him flying into the distance.
"I underestimated you a bit..."
A voice echoed from the dust.
'He was capable of making a move.'
With a ting sound, Nickel bounced back.
The opponent showed no doubt about my summoning of Nickel and quietly drew a new sword with his left hand.
Hosan held a sword in each hand, one named-class sword, Sword Breaker, and a new sword he had just drawn.
I held off his attacks with Nickel by my side. However, the opponent quickly approached, swinging both arms at me.
But I didn't just passively take his attacks.
"Kwagak!"
At that moment, I summoned Timur behind him.
"Just as I expected. Did you think I would fall for the same trick?"
Whish―Paang!
The air exploded as a storm of sword strikes engulfed us.
My body was pushed backward, and I sustained numerous minor wounds.
As I watched Hosan effortlessly subdue Timur who had attacked from behind, I felt a sense of despair.
'Indeed, this is overwhelming.'
Similar to the battle with Pahyat, he was someone who closely resembled Aura Master. Moreover, he hadn't even drawn his myth-grade weapon or named-class sword yet.
I had no choice but to be cautious, even though this was an opportunity to strike while he was off guard.
The most powerful card I had was my Sloth skill. However, using Sloth meant staking my life to become stronger.
'I can endure because of what I learned from my master.'
If I hadn't trained during the break, I wouldn't have been able to use a single move and would have been easily overwhelmed.
Thud, thud, thud.
As if telling me not to worry, Nickel nudged my shoulder and dashed forward.
That's right. I still had Nickel, Timur, and the mythical undead, Ludo, with me.
And if I were to die anyway, I might as well fight back using Sloth.
I deflected Nickel's sword with ease and then summoned Ludo, who charged forward with his massive sword.
Woong, thud!
Ludo appeared, his immense body tearing through the fabric of space and revealing his form. Giant arms emerged first, toppling the trees in the vicinity.
Kwaddeud-!
The Titan Golem, Ludo, revealed himself, exuding tremendous force.
Grrrrr―!
Upon Ludo's appearance, Hosan calmly observed.
"You're bringing along some strange beings."
Before Hosan finished speaking, Ludo, who had charged forward, swung his massive sword downward.
At the same time, I cast a buff spell.
"Death Fury."
Ludo's greatsword, engulfed in a crimson aura, exuded a menacing aura.
Kwaang!
The air exploded outward.
Hosan crossed his twin swords to block the attack, but I saw the ground sink beneath his feet.
No matter how skilled Hosan was, he seemed to be at a disadvantage against Ludo's power, gradually being pushed back.
"Huff!"
As Hosan's sword was pushed back, he retaliated with a powerful punch using his remaining hand.
Hoping to avoid it, Hosan was blocked by me, Nickel, and Timur, who were covered in wounds all over their bodies.
Bbaeong!
Kwaddeudddeud!
'Did it work?'
Though Nickel and Tymur took the punch together, they managed to throw their bodies at Hosan, and his punch landed.
Even though he was Hosan, an ordinary human composed of flesh and blood, he couldn't escape unscathed.
'But...'
I didn't let my guard down.
Destroying all the trees in the nearby forest while searching for the airborne Hosan, I followed closely behind Ludo.
As I focused my consciousness, I could sense Nickel and Timur lying on the ground.
Swoosh!
Thunk!
"Ugh!"
In that instant, something flew toward me at tremendous speed.
I narrowly dodged it, but it grazed my left shoulder.
'A sword?'
To confirm what had struck me, I pulled out the sword lodged in my shoulder and looked ahead.
Hosan, covered in blood, stood in the center of the cleared forest, bathed in the dawning light.
He now wielded new swords in each hand.
"Enough standing around. Come at me already."
You son of a bitch.
If I had just let him go, he would have escaped. But he insists on following me and talking as if I'm the one who was defeated.
On top of Nickel and Timur not being in good shape, Hosan has brought out his most powerful swords.
Seeing the condition of Hosan, it didn't seem like he had suffered any serious injuries.
'Indeed, it was an impossible battle.'
In the face of overwhelming power, combat talent or anything of the sort lost its meaning.
There was a fundamental gap between him and me that couldn't be bridged.
At that moment, Nickel, who had been lying on one side, stood up.
"An undead soldier worthy of learning from the master. Come on, bring it on!"
Now that I think about it, Nickel had lost his left arm.
However, he didn't give up and, with his remaining hand gripping the sword, assumed a devout combat stance.
Huu.
Seeing Nickel, my momentarily weakened spirit felt pitiful.
I still had a long way to go.
More. More. More.
I needed to become stronger.
At that moment, Nickel's will reached me.
"[Sloth Phantom (Legendary)] wants to use [Sloth]."
"[Sloth Phantom (Legendary)] and [Sloth] will share cooldown time."
[Do you accept?]
Even though I had no time to hesitate, I couldn't help but hesitate.
If Nickel uses Indolence, then I cannot.
Which one would be more beneficial, me using Indolence or him?
Thunk! Thunk!
At that moment, Nickel bumped his forehead against mine.
As if telling me to believe in myself, his gesture erased my hesitation.
'If I use Indolence, I might feel the same futile emotions as before and might even consider suicide. At that time, I survived thanks to the Original Sin, but I can't guarantee I'll have such luck again.'
In the end, I quietly revealed my acceptance of the decision, which was obscured by the message blocking my sight.
Rustle.
My shoulder was draped with the doh bak, the traditional Korean clothing worn during training.
In a different presence than before, Nickel filled his sword with a youthful blue mana.
'This will be our final act. I'm fine with that.'
I wasn't sure if it was the right judgment, but I couldn't undo what had already been decided.
I could only do my best with what I could do now.
There was no need to synchronize with Nickel.
We were already sharing our thoughts, and there was no overlap between what he was doing and what I was doing.
First, I sent out Ludo.
Although his attacks had initially landed, it seemed that Ludo's attacks were inevitably slow due to his size.
Kwagwang!
As he destroyed all the trees in the vicinity, his greatsword swung, but Hosan calmly evaded the attack and counterattacked Ludo's body.
Gwoooo―!
An enraged Ludo howled, but due to the impact from Gynos, he could only kneel.
However, Ludo's attempt had been quite helpful.
Piercing! Pot!
While Ludo stalled for time, Nickel, who had adapted to Sloth, approached Hosan at an incredible speed.
And soon, a fierce collision between a loud roar and a baptism of sword energy occurred.
Kwaang!
Kwagagagak!
"Huff."
In the meantime, I decided to attempt the 'Selfless Sword' that I learned from the Deschurn's book.
The Selfless Sword that he taught me was difficult to understand and even harder to emulate, but I recalled one of the most basic sword techniques.
'The Changing Sword.'
I approached Hosan, who was engrossed in fighting Nickel and the explosive sound.
They seemed completely absorbed in their own world, unaware of my approach.
'Here...'
My head felt overwhelmed, as if something was getting stuck.
But I had an intuition that I could unleash it now.
The Changing Sword.
The mana changed its nature and took on a new form.
At the speed I deemed ideal...
Tang!
With a sound akin to a gunshot, a wave of mana burst out, and I passed by Hosan as if teleporting, surpassing my limits.
The speed surpassed the speed of sound, causing a trail of steam to rise from my body.
My clothes were singed, as if I had been burned, and my whole body turned red, but the result was astonishing.
Hosan's chest was sliced open.
'It's a shame, but my role ends here.'
Even though he had fought against Nickel, who activated Indolence, and paid no attention to me, in the end, it was Hosan who had been stopped.
His chest was cut, but it was only a flesh wound.
But the real effect came afterward.
With his hand entangled due to my unexpected attack, Nickel focused all his effort and slowly brought the sword down from above toward Hosan.
The sword emanated a youthful blue mana, like vibrant flames.
"Could it be... Biqi?"
"Biqi" was a technique that only Aura Masters could use.
If becoming an Aura Master grants the "Ultimate," a passive skill that compensates for beneficial effects, then "Biqi" is an active skill that only Aura Masters can use.
Whether you obtained Biqi or not determined whether you ascended as an Aura Master.
Huuung.
It was a simple motion.
However, within that simple motion, all the intricacies of swordplay were contained.
Hosan's mana sword, which blocked Nickel's sword, shattered as if in slow motion.
A technique that can only be used in the moment when Indolence is activated.
It was a "Nickel-style" Biqi, which he had never been able to use in his lifetime and was faithful only to basic sword techniques.
An honest downward strike.
It was a strike that could not be blocked, even if you knew about it.
Phuhwaak.